Box or carton with adjustable display cover



July 14, 1959 5, T so 2,894,618

BOX OR CARTON WITH ADJUSTABLE DISPLAY COVER Filed Jan. 28, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 INVENTOR JoeZ S-Ma 2219509 BY QQM ATTORNEY BOX OR CARTON WITH ADJUSTABLE DISPLAY COVER Filed Jan. 28, 1957 July 14, 1959 J. s. MATTESON 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Joel 5MaZ'Ze50n BY (R a I ATTORNEY July 14, 1959 J. s. MATTESON 2,894,618

BOX OR CARTON WITH ADJUSTABLE DISPLAY COVER 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 28, 1957 INVENTOR f06Z fiMIZZe 507a Gad;

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ATTORNEY July 14, 1959 2,894,618

BOX OR CARTON WITH ADJUSTABLE DISPLAY COVER Filed Jan. 28, 1957 J: s. MATTESON 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR L/ oeZ 5'. J/aifeson ATTORNEY BY (Ra a.

United States Patent BOX 0R CARTON WITH ADJUSTABLE DISPLAY COVER Joel S. Matteson, Marshall, Mich. Application January 28, 1957, Serial No. 636,715 3 Claims. (Cl. 206-4528) The present invention relates broadly to containers, and more specifically to a two-piece cardboard container of telescoping type having a special label carrying flap.

Small cardboard cartons are commonly used in supplying hardware stores with bolts, nuts, washers, et cetera. Cartons of this type used to display the goods, comprise, as a general thing, an open-top box, or bottom member, and a cover telescoped over said box, the front wall of such cover bearing a label giving, in upright position, pertinent information with respect to the carton contents and the name of the manufacturer or distributor.

While the hardware dealer customarily keeps a number of the cartons in stock with their labels in View, he usually wishes to have several cartons open on a counter, shelf, or the like, for display and convenience in making sales. When so doing, it is customary to remove each cover from its. respective box, invert the cover, and then insert the box and contents into the inverted cover, to keep the cover label associated with the box contents. In so doing, the label necessarily occupies an inverted position and is difiicult to read. It was a recognition of this difficulty and the lack of any simple solution to same which led to the conception and development of the present invention.

Accordingly among the objects of the present invention is the overcoming of the above mentioned difiiculty by the provision of a new and improved cover which.

embodies novel structural features for providing the cover with an integral, upstanding, easily readable sign when said cover is used in inverted position for article display, as above explained.

In carrying out the above stated end, a further object has been to so arrange novel structural features as to effectively reinforce the front wall of the cover, whereby upon adequate reinforcement of the cover back wall also, an unusually strong carton, well adapted for handling heavy small items, will result.

More specifically, the invention has aimed to provide an outer reinforcing-and-label-carrying-panel and an inner reinforcing-panel for the cover front wall, said outer panel being movable from its normal position and foldable upon itself to a position in which it will project upwardly when the cover is used in the inverted position above mentioned, in which position it will display a portion of the label sufiicient to give all necessary information, in upright position, regarding the then displayed box contents.

A still further object has been to provide a novel carton construction in which a terminal flap on the label carrying outer reinforcing-panel is instrumental in holding this panel in both its normal storage position and its abnormal folded display position.

Yet another object has been to provide a novel onepiece blank from which to construct the improved cover.

Still further objectsandadvantages of the present invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention, then, consists of the means hereinice 2 after fully described and particularly pointed out in detail such disclosed means illustrating, however, but one of the several ways in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In the annexed drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the blank used to form the carton cover of the present invention. 1

Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 are perspective views showing the cover in different successive stages of completion.

Figure 6 is a partially sectioned view substantially on line 6-6 of Figure 5, looking in the direction of the arrows, but showing the cover entirely completed and telescoped over the complemental box bottom portion, providing a carton for shipping and supplying the box contents to the dealer. I

Figure 7 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing the cover removed from the box assembly and inverted, and showing the outer reinforcing-and-label-carryingpanel during transformation to one of its. folded upstanding display positions.

Figure 8 is a perspective view showing the box bottom portion within the inverted cover for display of the box contents, and showing the folded panel of the cover member upstanding display position in which the label is readily readable.

The construction shown in the drawings is. a preferred one and will be rather specifically described but attention is invited to the possibility of making variations within the spirit and scope of the invention.

The blank B of Figure 1, includes a rectangular top panel 10 and two side wall panels 11 joined by fold lines 12 to two opposite edges of said top panel 10. Two back wall panels 13 are joined by fold lines- 14 to the rear ends of the side wall panels 11 and are transversely slitted at 15 for connection with each other when overlapped. Two front wall panels 16, which are preferably narrower than back wall panels 13 for convenience of forming the carton, are joined by fold lines 17 to the front ends of the side wall panels 11 and are slitted at 18 for connection with each other when overlapped. An outer back-wall-reinforcing-panel 19 is joined by a fold line 20 to the rear edge of the top panel 10, and an inner back wall-reinforcing-panel 21 is joined by a fold line 22 to said outer panel 19. An inner front-wallreinforcing-panel 23 is connected by a fold line 24 to the front edge of the top panel 10, and an outer front-wallreinforcing and label-carrying panel 25 is connected by a fold line 26 to said inner panel 23. The outer edge of the panel 25 is joined by a fold line 27 to a terminal flap 28, and said panel 25 is provided about midway between the fold lines 26 and 27 with a fold line 29 for a purpose to be hereinafter set forth.

A label 30 may be applied to the panel 25 before any folding operations are performed upon the blank B, as indicated in broken lines in Figure 1, or said label may be applied after the conversion of said blank into a box cover.

In forming the cover from the blank B, the side wall panels 11 are folded upwardly from the top panel 10 as seen in Figure 2. The back wall panels 13 are swung inwardly and overlapped and hooked together by interengaging their slits 15, and the front wall panels 16 are also swung inwardly and overlapped and hooked together by interengaging their slits 18. When so connecting the front wall panel 16, the connected reinforcing panels 23 and 25 occupy an inwardly swung position (Figure 2) to dispose the panel 23 for later contact with the cover inner front wall formed by the-connected panels 16.

After connecting the back wall panels 13 and the front wall panels 16, the connected back-wall-reinforcin-g-panels 19 and 21 and the connected front walbreinforcing-panels 23 and 25 are swung upwardly as shown in Figure 3. The panels 21 and 25 are then folded downwardly as seen in Figure 4, disposing the cover back wall (formed by the panels 13) between the backwall-reinforcing panels 19 and 21, and disposing the front-wall (formed by the panels 16) between the frontwall-reinforcing-panels 23 and 25. The back Wall and its reinforcing panels 19 and 21 are then preferably stapled together at 31 to provide a strongly reinforced back wall structure for the cover suitable for a container handling heavy materials such as steel or brass nuts, bolts, screws, or the like.

To hold the front Wall and its reinforcing panels 23 and 25 in assembled relation, the terminal flap 2% (compare Figures 4 and is tucked-in between the front wall (formed by the panels 16) and the upper portion of the inner reinforcing panel 23 adjacent fold line 2%. The bight formed along the fold line 25 then receives the lower edge of the front wall (16, 16) as seen in Figure 6, and the bight formed along the fold line 27 receives the upper edge of said front wall (l6, 16). A strongly reinforced front wall structure is thus provided for the completed cover C. In this complete cover, if the label 30 Was previously applied to the blank B, it is now exposed to view as will be clear from Figure 5. Otherwise, the label is applied in like position after completion of the cover. The upper half of the label 30 will preferably give the name and address of the manufacturer or distributor, and the lower half pertinent information with regard to the contents of the box or bottom member to be telescoped with the cover C formed from blank B.

In Figure 6, the cover C has been shown engaged with a box 32, which forms the carton bottom member, forming a carton in which to supply the desired articles to the dealer. The dealer keeps a number of the unopened cartons in stock with their labels exposed in upright reading position, and whenever he wishes to open a carton and place its contents on display, he performs the operations described below.

First, the cover C is removed from the box 32 and the front wall panel 25 is released by withdrawing the terminal flap 28. The cover is then inverted (Figure 7) and the panel 25 is outwardly and downwardly folded along the fold line 28. The terminal flap 28 is then tucked downwardly into a. portion of the cover, either between portions of the two front-wallforming-panels 16 as shown in Figure 7, or between these panels 16 and the panel 23. Finally, the box 32 with its contents undisturbed, is downwardly inserted into the inverted cover (Figure 8). The box 32 then holds the panel in the folded upstanding position shown in Figure 8, in which position the exposed portion of the label 39 constitutes a conspicuous sign giving, in upright position, the desired information with respect to the box contents.

It will be seen from the foregoing that a novel reinforced cover construction has been provided for attaining the desired ends. However, attention is again invited to the possibility of making variations within the spirit and scope of the invention, and while directional terms such as upstanding, front, rear, upper, lower, et cetera, have been used, it is to be understood that they are not limiting on the invention but rather have been used to simplify describing the invention in the particular positions illustrated in the drawings.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the article and combinations herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. A cover having a top panel with a pair of side panels and front and back panels for use in covering an open-top article-shippingand-storing box or the like, said front panel having a pair of connected front wall panels joined to the front ends of said side panel and less depth than the back panel, an inner reinforcing panel joined to the front edge of said top panel, said inner panel lying against the rear side of said connected front wall panels, an outer reinforcing and information displaying panel, the outer edges of said inner and outer reinforcing panels being connected by a bight which receives the outer edges of said connected front wall panels, and a terminal flap inserted removably between said connected front wall panels and the front side of said inner reinforcing panel, the edge of said terminal flap being connected to the edge of said outer reinforcing panel by a bight which receives the second edge of said connected front wall panels, said outer reinforcing panel having a fold line parallel to and approximately midway between its two bight edges; whereby, when the cover is removed from the box and inverted and said outer panel is released by withdrawing said terminal flap, said outer panel and the connected terminal flap may be upwardly swung to a position in which they project above said front wall, the then upper portion of said outer panel may be folded outwardly and downwardly about the fold line between its edges toward the then lower portion of said outer panel, and said terminal flap may then project downwardly into a portion of the inverted cover, whereupon insertion of the box into the inverted cover will hold said folded panel in an upstanding position to display information relating to the box contents.

2. A cover as set forth in claim 1 in which said front wall panels include midway slitted portions for connecting to each other.

3. A blank for constructing the herein described box cover, said blank comprising a top panel, two side wall panels connected by fold lines with two opposite edges of said top panel, two back wall panels connected by fold lines with the rear ends of said side wall panels and slitted midway their ends for connection with each other, two front wall panels connected by fold lines with the front ends of said side wall panels and slitted midway their ends for connection with each other, an outer backwall-reinforcing-panel connected by a fold line with the rear edge of said top panel, an inner back-wall-reinforcing-panel connected by a fold line with said outer backwall-reinforcing-panel, an inner front-wall-reinforcingpanel connected by a fold line with the front edge of said top panel, an outer front-wallreinforcingpanel connected by a fold line with said inner front-tvall-reinforcingpanel, and a terminal flap connected by a fold line with said outer front-wall-reinforcing-panel, said outer frontwall-reinforcing-panel having a fold line between and parallel with the fold lines which connect this panel with said terminal fiap and said inner front-wari-reinforcingpanel, and said two front wall panels being narrower than the back wall panels to facilitate folding of the inner and outer front wall reinforcing panels and interfitting engagement thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS ,166,263 Sackett Dec. 28, 1915 1,520,135 Myers Dec. 23, 1924 1,639,793 Beyer Aug. 23, 1927 1,906,964 Hill May 2, 1933 1,934,218 Webb Nov. 7, 1933 ,730 Williamson et a1 Apr. 17, 1945 

